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The Shining' 2?

Film

Stephen King makes it official he’s writing a follow-up to his 1977 masterpiece.

Most younger generations only know it from the indelible image of Jack Nicholson ax-ing through a door to kill his shrill wife played by Shelley Duvall, and announcing, “Heeeeeere’s Johnny!” It was a great movie, however campy. Kubrick will live.

But this writer actually read “The Shining” in his pre-teens, while summering in Delaware, sleeping on a screened-in porch, and wished it had had walls. It remains a classic piece of storytelling, only to be matched by his second novel, “‘Salem’s Lot,” his modernized take on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” That book, adapted twice to television, deserves a big-screen go even still.

Now readers, and of course moviegoers to follow will find out what happened to young Danny Torrance, the surviving little boy who only related to a large and lovely black man, and whose index finger spoke to him. The follow-up, which is tentatively titled “Dr. Sleep”, will now be 40 years old and living in Upstate New York (always a scary thought). And we hear they’ll be vampires in the mix–psychic vampires, at the very least. This is crazy exciting news to us.

We always wondered why Stanley Kubrick chose an axe instead of a roque mallet, Jack’s original weapon of choice in the novel, not to mention why he had to kill off Dick Hallorann (the brilliant Scatman Crothers) in the film version too. I mean, WHY? Dude was awesome! Well, in any case, there is peace in knowing that Stephen King was one of the rare few that wasn’t altogether fond of the movie. That said, who could forget some of the images we’ve included here, sliced from the movie? And for fans, here are two of the original book jackets too, as well as King looking a bit cabin fever-y himself.